March 19, 2008

Senator McCain's Foreign Policy Expertise

Speaking to reporters in Amman, the Jordanian capital, McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives “taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back.”

Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was “common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.” A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate’s ear. McCain then said: “I’m sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda.”

The mistake threatened to undermine McCain's argument that his decades of foreign policy experience make him the natural choice to lead a country at war with terrorists. In recent days, McCain has repeatedly said his intimate knowledge of foreign policy make him the best equipped to answer a phone ringing in the White House late at night.

But all did not go according to plan on Tuesday in Amman, Jordan, when Mr. McCain, fresh from a visit to Iraq, misidentified some of the main players in the Iraq war.

Mr. McCain said several times in his visit to Jordan — in a news conference and in a radio interview — that he was concerned that Iran was training Al Qaeda in Iraq. The United States believes that Iran, a Shiite country, has been training and financing Shiite extremists in Iraq, but not Al Qaeda, which is a Sunni insurgent group.

His campaign, of course, did its best to cover it all up:

Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, responded: “In a press conference today, John McCain misspoke and immediately corrected himself by stating that Iran is in fact supporting radical Islamic extremists in Iraq, not Al Qaeda — as is reflected in the transcript. The reality is that the American people have deep concerns about the Democratic candidates’ judgment and readiness on matters of national security, and that’s why the D.N.C. launched their attack today.”

Uh, not quite. You see my friends, Senator John McCain did not make that mistake only once - in Jordan.

HH: What’s the concern you have about Iran, and about, in particular, Ahmadinejad? Some people want to meet with him. He’s not on your agenda this trip.

JM: (laughing) The day I meet with the president of Iran will be the day after he announces his country no longer is dedicated to the extinction of the state of Israel, the day after they stop exporting these most lethal explosives into Iraq. Just yesterday, up in the Mosul area, they uncovered a cache of weapons, and a lot of it was these Iranian copper, high…most lethal explosives. As you know, there are al Qaeda operatives that are taken back into Iran, given training as leaders, and they’re moving back into Iraq.

This is the guy who wants us to know that he's the expert on foreign affairs in the presidential race.

Not good. Not good at all.

He's lucky that he made this embarrassing gaffe the day that Senator Obama gave his speech. Had it been otherwise we might be talking about McCain's flubbing another important issue.

14 comments:

I hate to disagree with you, daveyoe, but I suspect that McCain's general cluelessness is not something the media is particularly interested in. That's boring, you see, just like details about health care policy or education. Nobody wants to hear about that. That's not "news."

For example, nobody really seems to care that the surge that was such a huge success, according to geniuses like McCain and Billy Kristol, is proving to be what most people rooted in reality knew to be the case, a big flop.

Today, in fact, I'm sure we'll see what modern "news" is really all about, with the coverage of the 5 year anniversary of the Iraq war. We'll see talking points from the right and left, but little in the way of actual analysis of those talking points - that is, whether they are actually true.

At least the Big Dance starts tomorrow. A momentary distraction from the ridiculous pie fight that is American politics.

Sort of rebukes these misguided assumptions that thry aren't willing to work together, doesn't it? Seeing as these people already betray everything the religion of Islam represents, why would they not be willing to do so?

C.H., you're right. McCain didn't know he was wrong, but that's the key to his genius, because in not knowing he was wrong, he also didn't know that he *could* be right.

Tell me, given that McCain has indicated that he would pretty much maintain the status quo in terms of domestic and foreign policy, how long do you see before the complete collapse of this little experiment known as the United States of America?

I don't see any imminent "collapse" of this country. Obviously, we have tough problems ahead, but if we all work together for the good of our future we can solve them, as we have done with many others problems over the centuries.

But, if you're so worred about this "little experiment" collapsing, maybe you should move to a country that is far more in tune with how the world works and has plans for a better tomorrow. I'm sure Bashir's Sudan would welcome you with open arms.

We have tough problems AHEAD? Wow, C.H., you're even further divorced from reality than I thought.

Oh, and your heart just bleeds for Sudan and the other distressed countries you like to reference in your delusional comments. The same asshats that got us into this war and continue to advocate for it would call you an imbecile and a bleeding heart if you suggested any sort of actual physical intervention to stop the atrocities that are occurring there. They care no more about the people of those countries than they do for the people in Iraq.

Fill, you ranting ideologue, don't you know that African casualties are far more important than Middle Eastern ones -- unless they're Israeli, of course, then they're apocalyptic. Every Israeli death needs to be avenged with 100 of the "enemy." Otherwise, the Rapture won't come, and C.H. will be stuck here on the ground with ranting ideologues like you.

What's more, C.H. is a much more valuable human being than you are, you ranting ideologue, because he supports 100 -- no make it 1000 -- years of war, misery, death, and displacement in Iraq.That's the way to spread love and charity: blow their brains out!

One more thing, you ranting ideologue. C.H. can't possibly be a fraud. With an amateurish act like his, how could he possibly fool anyone?

I'm fine, C.H. but it's uncharacteristically nice of you to ask. How are you? Are the sutures from your recent craniotomy healing well? All of us atheists are praying for your speedy recovery.

I recommend you visit my blog and read some of my posts about Israel's actions in the Gaza strip.

Well, if we're making recommendations, I recommend you start posting something that is neither internally inconsistent or contradictory of simple observation. Thanks, but I see enough of both your "wisdom" and that of your fellow extreme right-wingers to know that visiting your blog would be a profligate waste of my precious time.

you will find your talking points rebuked.

I see. At your blog you rebuke logic and common sense, but here you simply deny reality. It's an interesting marketing ploy. Perhaps you are getting advice from McCain's expert on religion and politics in Iraq?